Santana K’s 17

Johan Santana took the mound Sunday afternoon and helped pitch his way into what could be the biggest contract ever for a starting pitcher in 2009.  Santana went 8.0 innings giving up only 2 hits and striking out 17 in the best pitching performance by a starter since Ben Sheets struck out 18 in 2004.

Already owning 2 Cy Young awards, Santana will make $12 Million this year and $13.125 in 2008.  With Zambrano signing a new extension this week with the Cubs for $18M/yr, Santana will likely demand $20M/yr when he becomes a free agent after 2008.  Because Santana finished in the top 3 for the Cy Young his contract now kicks in a no trade clause.

As a Twins fan, it would be nice to see Ryan try to wrap Santana up with an extension before the season ends.  But as a small market team, it would be interesting to see how many pitchers/hitters/prospects the Twins could receive in a trade, assuming Santana approves.  Would a couple 30+ HR hitting outfielders for $8M/yr each give the team more in the long run than one Santana every 5 days?

In the right ballpark, surrounded by the right team, Santana could win 2 more Cy Young's and flirt with 4,000 strikeouts.